Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS)

The County of Kaua‘i, Department of Public Works, Solid Waste Division is responsible for properly managing and disposing of municipal solid waste (MSW) on the island. Because the existing Kekaha Municipal Solid Waste Landfill (MSWLF) is projected to reach capacity in the coming years, a new landfill facility will be required to provide for safe and proper disposal of all forms of MSW that cannot practicably be further reused, recycled, or otherwise recovered. The County proposes to develop a new MSWLF and resource recovery park (RRP) north of Līhuʻe town, makai of Ma‘alo Road. An Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) is being prepared to evaluate the environmental impacts of and alternatives to the proposed Municipal Solid Waste Landfill (MSWLF).

Two public informational meeting will be held to provide information on the County's Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the new Kaua‘i Landfill, Ma’alo, Kaua‘i Hawai‘i. Tuesday, May 8, 2018, from 6 PM to 8:30 PM at the Līhu‘e Neighborhood Center School, 3353 Eono Street, Līhu‘e and Wednesday, May 9, 2018, from 6 PM to 8:30 PM at the Kapa‘a
Neighborhood Center, 4491 Kou Street, Kapa‘a .

Public Comments will be accepted at the meetings and written comments will be accepted by mail with a postmark no later than May 23, 2018. Please Mail Comments to:

NOTE: Special accommodations and sign language interpreters and interpreters for non-English speaking persons are available upon request five (5) days prior to the meeting date. To request an accommodation please contact the County Solid Waste Division at 241-4837 or via email at afraley@kauai.gov.

EIS Preparation Notice

The existing Kekaha Municipal Solid Waste Landfill (MSWLF) is projected to
reach capacity in the coming years. Therefore, a new landfill facility will be
required thereafter to achieve the project objective of providing for the proper
disposal of all forms of MSW that cannot practicably be further reused,
recycled, or otherwise recovered. Additionally, the County is committed to
maximizing waste diversion via waste reduction, reuse, and recycling. The
proposed project includes construction and operation of a both new MSWLF and a
Resource Recovery Park (RRP). Based on a preliminary analysis of potential
impacts due to the landfill and RRP, the County has determined that an
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is required, and therefore this EIS
Preparation Notice (EISPN) has been prepared.

The EISPN commits the County to conducting a State-of Hawaii Chapter 343 EIS,
which includes several documents and opportunities for public comments and
input. The Draft EISPN provides a general framework for the ongoing EIS process;
indicates some of the special studies that will be conducted, including
alternative analyses; potential impacts and a preliminary discussion of
potential mitigation measures; and summarizes past project activities, including
the Siting Study and the previous round of public comments and responses.

Resource Recovery Park

In order to achieve its waste diversion goals, the County has identified a
Resource Recovery Park (RRP) as a critical element of the County's solid waste
management strategy. A RRP is a ‘one-stop service center’ that is intended to
include a comprehensive and integrated set of waste management programs and
facilities to support maximization of the diversion of waste from the landfill
via reuse, recycling, and recovery. Providing a single centralized location
where residential and commercial entities are able to conduct all of their
recycling and waste diversion activities can provide a synergistic effect, and
help promote reuse, recycling, and reduction of waste disposal, while
simultaneously allowing the County to achieve cost savings through shared
resources and economies of scale.

The Draft RRP Feasibility Study (FS) analyzes Kauai's current waste
generation, recycling, reduction, and reuse strategies, and provides projections
of future waste quantities. This data is then used to analyze a host of
potential recycling, reduction, and reuse processes that can potentially be
implemented at the RRP. Finally, the expected costs and benefits of each
potential process is analyzed, and preliminary recommendations are made
regarding which processes are appropriate for Kauai's RRP.

Public meetings were held on January 28 and 29 to present the findings of
this Draft RRP FS to the public, and to solicit public comments and feedback on
the Draft RRP FS. The RRP FS has been finalized to address the public
concerns. A preliminary design of the proposed RRP will be prepared for input
into the ongoing New Landfill/RRP Environmental Impact Statement.

New Kauai Landfill Siting Study

In July 2012, AECOM Technical Services, Inc. (AECOM) of Honolulu (formerly Earth Tech, Inc.) prepared the current New Landfill Siting Study, with assistance from RM Towill Corporation. The study re-evaluates the suitability of the eight sites (Kumukumu is re-included following a change in the earlier development plans) using contemporary exclusionary criteria, generates preliminary engineering estimates and planning-level cost estimates, updates the MACLS results with a community criteria evaluation using improved scoring and ranking methodology, identifies other important decision factors for siting a new MSWLF, conducts an overall site comparison, and presents recommendations. This report updates all previous data and performs additional analyses to allow the County to choose a proposed location for the new landfill. This report includes the following subsections.

EIS Community Meetings 2012

In May of 2012, the County of Kauaʻi Department of Public Works, Solid Waste
Division, hosted four community meetings to obtain public input and identify
issues to be addressed in the upcoming Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for
a New Municipal Solid Waste Landfill and Resource Recovery Park.

During the meetings, activities performed to date were briefly summarized,
the EIS process was explained, and comments were solicited from the public to
identify specific environmental concerns for consideration in the EIS.

Community meetings, were held from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm at the
following dates, times, and locations: